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The second Free Practice session of F1’s comeback in Monaco confirmed a trend already evident in the first session: Scuderia Ferrari is a candidate for the podium on Sunday, in the 78th Monaco Grand Prix, judging by the best time of Charles Leclerc this afternoon, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr: 1: 11.684, a tenth better than his Spanish teammate, although the local hero had been unable to compete this morning in FP1. There was a major gearbox problem on his beautiful red car, so he could only complete 4 laps, but this issue was solved in due time by the Scuderia mechanics.
The session ended four minutes earlier than scheduled, due to a touch at the entry of the Casino turns for Mick Schumacher, the son of the 7-time World Champion and 5-time winner in the Principality. Mick is the defending Formula 2 champion but he drives an F1 car for the first time in Monaco, on this very demanding track. Just like his teammate Nikita Mazepin, Canada’s Nicholas Latifi (Williams) and Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri). It was not easy for them on Thursday and they will have one more free practice session Saturday morning to prepare for qualifying.
At the top of the timesheet, Charles Leclerc ended a successful session in style, using his soft tyres to keep a symbolic advantage over teammate Sainz and reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton until the end. He is still a long way from Sir Lewis’s pole position in 2019 (1: 10.166) but the main thing is that the Scuderia has worked hard this winter and maybe it will pay off at one point, in the next days or weeks.
Behind the two Ferraris, Hamilton only used medium tires on his Mercedes, so as not to reveal his game too much, and took 3rd place, ahead of Max Verstappen, in the fastest Red Bull, since his Mexican teammate, Sergio Pérez, the fastest in FP1, had to settle for 8th. Contrary to this morning, Pérez was slower than Valtteri Bottas (5th) in the other Mercedes, Lando Norris (6th) in his McLaren in Gulf livery, and the excellent Pierre Gasly (7th) in his Alpha Tauri. For the record, Sebastian Vettel, in his Aston Martin, made it into the Top 10. He has already triumphed twice here in Monaco: in 2011 in a Red Bull and then in 2017 in a Ferrari. This was the last win for the Scuderia in the Principality, in front of thousands of delighted tifosi …
To kick off the 2021 edition of the Porsche Supercup, this Thursday in Monaco, there were 28 Porsche 911 GT3s on the track, headed by defending champion Larry ten Voorde. The Dutchman tried to enforce his status as outgoing champion and thought he had succeeded when he completed a lap in 1: 34.165, owed just 30 thousandths better than Dylan Pereira. Then the Luxemburger from BWT Lechner Racing got back in front, in 1: 34.062, just before the session was definitively interrupted, five minutes from its end, by a big touch immediately dealt with by the ACM marshals.
Behind Pereira and Ten Voorde, Turkey’s Ayhancan Güven, entered by the same team as Pereira, took 3rd place in this session, followed at three tenths by Dorian Boccolacci (4th), the former F2 driver from France who debuts in Supercup after having shone in the Porsche Carrera Cup last year, in his home country. Another French driver entered the Top 10, Florian Latorre (9th), in his Porsche aligned by CLRT, the team recently founded by driver Côme Ledogar.
Qualifying will take place Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. and Sunday morning’s race at 10:30 a.m. promises a lot, as six drivers completed the free practice session grouped together in the same second. There will be 8 Supercup rounds again this year, still raising the curtain on F1, and still in Europe. The Porsche Supercup was created in 1993 and was then run by Jost Capito, who is now the new Williams F1 Team Principal.
No F1 on the menu this Friday in Monaco, because the stars are resting, but a busy morning with Formula Regional by Alpine (qualifying between 7:55 am and 9:00 am, in two groups), then Porsche Supercup qualifying (at 10:00 am) which will be followed by Formula 2 Race 1 (at 11:45 am, 42 laps). Frenchman Théo Pourchaire, who took pole position on Thursday, will have to wait until Saturday to try and take advantage of it, in Race 3 at 5.15pm, after the qualifying session for F1.
Frenchman Hadrien David clocked the best time in the free practice session for Formula Regional by Alpine, early on Thursday morning, aboard his 280hp and 665- kilos (driver included) single-seater powered by a Renault engine. A member of R-Ace Racing, the Junior Team for ART Grand Prix, the Royan-native is only 17 and won the title last year in the French Formula 4 Championship.
It was his first outing in the streets of the Principality and he was very impressive, his best lap in 1 :30.202. This proved two tenths of a second better than Britain’s Alex Quinn (Arden Motorsport) and half a second quicker than Italy’s Gabriele Mini (ART Grand Prix). And this time is equivalent to the best times for F1s of the 70s which raced here during Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, at the end of April. This is very promising in the perspective of the one and only qualifying session, early Friday morning, and for both races scheduled this weekend, Saturday (10 :15) and Sunday morning (12 :00).
Russia’s Robert Shwartzman (Prema Racing) has already shown, in Formula 2 free practice Thursday morning, that his experience could prove useful this weekend in Monaco, where three races are scheduled on the F2 agenda. Last year, he finished 4th of the series, with 4 wins, which was an impressive result for a rookie. The year before, he was crowned FIA F3 Champion, for his first and only season in the category.
With a fastest lap in 1 :22.041, the St Petersbourg native was half a second faster than Britain’s Dan Ticktum (Carlin), followed on the timesheet of this session by another Russian driver, the very promising Juri Vips (Hitech GP). One of their compatriots, Gianluca Petecof (Campos), had a major issue when his engine blew up at Sainte-Dévote, producing a huge smoke cloud when he tried to continue driving towards the Casino. He then stopped his car in a safe place, surrounded by ACM marshals who proved very efficient, as always.
The Orange army is famous in the whole world of motorsport and had to act several times Thursday morning, always with total commitment and efficiency, in order to take care of single-seaters in deep trouble. The Chinese leader of the series, Guanyu Zhou (Uni-Virtuosi), had to be happy with the 9th time of the session, almost one and a half second slower than Shwartzman. Not very encouraging for him before qualifying scheduled for today, between 1 :20 and 2 :00, for two groups of 11 cars.
This digital catering service will give you the opportunity to follow the ontrack racing show with the respect of sanitary rules.
Rx Eat, a 100% foodie app, allows each user to get a large selection of meals delivered, with fresh, local, quality products prepared in a short circuit.
In partnership with the association FAR (Foi, Action, Rayonnement) for the Grandstand T and the AS Monaco Rugby for the Grandstand NOP, the free App will be deployed in order to offer a digital and quality catering service during the Grand Prix.
Spectators will have the possibility to lunch without to leave their seat.
In the current sanitary context, the App is applying with 2 objectives:
How does the RX Eat App work?
Spectators will be able to download the application for free, by scanning the QR code on the flyers distributed at the event entrance, directly on their smartphone or tablet.
After selected its grandstand, each spectator will be able to choose between a large choice of sandwiches, salty or sweet snacks, drinks, and popcorns.
Once order confirmed with the located seat filled and the order payed (by credit card or cash), your booking will arrive directly to you in the grandstand, by the service or the FAR and ASM Rugby association volunteers .
Download RX Eat App on Apple Store or Google Play
Follow the 78th edition of the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco throughout the week-end on CANAL+ with an exclusive program.
The young F1 driver retired, Romain Grosjean, will start its new career of TV Consultant with Canal Plus this week-end.
You will have also the possibility to watch all live the F1 sessions on Monaco Info, and also the Porsche Supercup Race and the Lap Tour of the Princely Couple from 14:10 on Sunday 23rd .
Find all the TV Broadcast Coverage by countries on the following link: https://www.formula1.com/en/toolbar/broadcast-information.html
A few weeks before Monaco Grand Prix, the Monaco-born Scuderia Ferrari driver talked to the Monégasque media about his home race. He is more confident than ever about this 78th edition because he knows the track by heart and because his Ferrari, this year, is much better than the one he drove last year. So who knows what can happen this weekend in the streets of the Principality ?
You have never completed a Monaco Grand Prix since the start of your single-seater career. Do you feel like you are cursed here?
No, I don’t believe in curses (he laughs). These are things that happen, it’s bad luck and unfortunately it happened to me the last few times. However, before single-seaters, I won here in go-karts (he smiles). I will do everything to get the best possible result this year.
What is your favourite turn on the track?
The S at the swimming-pool because we go through that portion at incredible speeds being very close to the barriers; we have no room for mistakes. That’s what I like the most. I also have fond memories at the pool with friends when we were younger.
What is the main improvement of the SF21 compared to the SF1000?
It’s hard to say, it’s a new car so there are lots of differences… The car’s balance has been improved, so it is easier to drive. There was no revolution on the car between 2020 and 2021, it is more of an evolution. 2020 has been a really tough year, although I’ve learned a lot, especially from my mistakes.
Carlos Sainz Jr. replaced Sebastian Vettel as your teammate. How would you describe your relationship with him?
Everything is going well between us. I have never spent as much time with a teammate as I have with Carlos before. We get along well because we are almost the same age, we are at the same point in our career and we also have a lot of common interests such as padel tennis, golf or chess…
And at work?
We work well together and expect the same from the car, which is very important. We have the same desire to bring Ferrari back to winning ways. There is a lot of motivation and I’m sure we will push each other on the track for better results.
Do you feel like you’ve changed status within the team?
Not really. Even though I’ve turned from being the least experienced driver in the team to the one who knows the Scuderia best, Carlos has been in F1 for more years than me. My goal remains the same: to give my maximum every time I am in the car.
© Olivier Caenen
F1 is back in Monaco after two years of absence…
I’m so happy to be able to race at home again, I can’t wait. The Monaco Grand Prix is necessarily very special to me, it was always a dream to take part in this race. The cancellation was hard to accept last year, but fortunately the ACM was able to find solutions for this year.
As a Monegasque, you are in great demand here. Is it a more tiring weekend than the others?
Yes, in Monaco and Italy, it’s always very demanding and it’s not easy to manage. But I’m not complaining, it’s better that way than the other. It’s always very special to be in Monaco and I feel it every time.
What’s your opinion on Monaco marshals ?
They do an exceptional job and without them the Grand Prix could not take place. Coming to F1, I found out about them and realised how well prepared they are here. Even if throughout the season marshals on other circuits are well-trained, Monaco marshals are still a step above. They are really impressive and they play a major role for us and our safety.
© wri2.net – Jean-François Galeron
This is an historical date for Williams Formula 1 Team: this Monaco Grand Prix will be the 750th in the history of the squad founded in 1975 by by Sir Frank and his partner in crime, Sir Patrick Head. This accounts for races entered by Frank Williams Racing Cars in 1975, then Williams Grand Prix Engineering from 1978, but without including the time in 1976 when the Williams FW 05 cars driven by Jacky Ickx, Michel Leclère and Arturo Merzario carried the banner of Walter Wolf Racing, founded by the Canadian billionaire.
Then Williams won 9 Constructors world titles, 7 Drivers crowns, 114 F1 races, and the Didcot started going down, until it was bought out last year by an American investment fund. The staff has changed, the Williams family has retired, but the name stays and high ambitions are set by the new owners.
In order to make this 750th GP memorable, the very talented George Russell, who had subbed for Lewis Hamilton at Sakhir GP, last November, in a Mercedes, will carry a special helmet. And he has another idea to celebrate the occasion : getting into Q2 on Saturday afternoon. This would be quite an achievement !
Two World Champions, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, discussed the glorious history of Formula 1 on the eve of the first free practice sessions for Monaco Grand Prix 2021. The oldest of the two, the Spaniard, has been crowned twice (2005, 2006) with Renault F1. He now drives a blue Alpine, ha has already won in Monaco (2006, 2007), each time starting in pole, and he also won Le Mans 24 Hours for Toyota, but not yet at Indy 500. His experience his immense and he believes that the races of our times will be appreciated, in 20 or 30 years time, just as much as the 70s races are lauded today by nostalgic fans who miss the fights between Lotus, Ferrari, Tyrrell, Williams and McLaren.
© Olivier Caenen
« I don’t think we can compare cars and years, championships and driving styles », Alonso said on Wednesday. « I think that in those years, it was amazing to drive these cars in Monaco. I can only imagine how hard it was, and how tricky it was at the same time. Now we have cars that go 15 or 20 seconds faster per lap. But the challenge is still the same and you have to maximise the package that you have in your hands. It doesn’t matter if you’re running in 1’30s or in 1’10s, at the end of the day it is the same spirit that has to go into the driving. So I respect a lot what the F1 drivers of the past achieved, and how they were able to drive those cars. And now I think it will be the same respect in 20 or 30 years’ time when fans watch the races that we are doing now.”
A Monaco resident, Hamilton already won three times in the streets of the Principality, for McLaren (2008) and Mercedes (2016, 2019). He is still very excited by this very special track, after all these years : « Just driving the track, in practice or in the race, going through the tunnel, up into Casino, the whole experience for the weekend is mesmerising. And that never changes. The feeling of winning here is never any less. Every year is unique and special if you are lucky enough to get the opportunity », he adds. By the way, in his own match against Alonso, with regards to Monaco wins, Sir Lewis is leading 3-2…
